If you make a salary between $684 and $844 a week, you could be entitled to overtime pay for the first time on July 1st. And on January 1, 2025, the weekly minimum salary to get overtime will go up to $1,128. These new increases from the U.S. Department of Labor are for some employees who are paid at a regular salary and do certain kinds of jobs.
You probably know that most hourly workers are entitled to receive overtime pay at one and a half times their regular hourly rate for any hours worked over 40 in a workweek. A federal law called the Fair Labor Standards Act requires it. But there is a category of employees known as “white-collar” workers, which includes administrative, professional, sales, and computer employees, who are exempt from receiving overtime pay.
These white-collar employees who don’t get overtime pay don’t have to be executives with big salaries. You only have to have a steady salary below $35,568 and do executive or administrative work, and your employer can request to be exempt from overtime pay. About a million workers will now be able to get overtime.
This rule now requires millions of salaried workers who earn less than $35,568 per year to be paid overtime for any hours worked over 40 in a workweek. This is a significant change that will provide fair compensation for many workers who have been putting in extra hours without receiving any additional pay.
And the update establishes a schedule for future increases in the salary threshold. On July 1, 2024, the threshold will increase to $43,888 per year, and on January 1, 2025, it will include workers earning less than $58,656 per year. Starting July 1, 2027, the salary thresholds will be updated every three years based on up-to-date wage data to determine the new salary levels.
Employees should speak up if they believe they are not receiving the overtime pay they are entitled to be paid. Contact our lawyers if you think that you are not being paid overtime and you should be.